06/11/2013 20:43VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN back on track after home victory over Turkish rookie2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Men

Friedrichshafen, Germany, November 6, 2013. After losing their first two matches against Knack ROESELARE and Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE, Germany’s VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN finally celebrated their first victory in the prelims of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men as on Wednesday they downed Turkey’s rookie Galatasaray FXTCR ISTANBUL in straight sets (25-16, 25-20, and 25-17).
VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN played their second home game at the ZF Arena against Galatasaray with 1,500 fans in attendance. The best scorer in the end for the likes of VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN was Ventceslav Simeonov with 17 points while Ahmed Abdelhay registered 15 for the guests from Turkey’s megalopolis.

About 30 fans of Galatasaray were also there to cheer on their team right from the beginning. But the away team from Turkey couldn’t show the same strength as their fans did. VfB served strong with two aces from Max Günthör and was very effective in blocking (14:9). Even if Galatasaray put pressure on the defense of the “Häfler”, FRIEDRICHSHAFEN kept cool and found the right answers (16:11). More risk on the Turkish side led to more mistakes for the guests and a big block by Simeonov and Günthör combined with good attacks by Valentin Bratoev sealed the final and relatively speedy 25-16 for the home side.

VfB started out very strong also in the second set (4:1) and the Turkish coach brought in middle blocker Cansin Hacibekiroglu for Ibrahim Emet. Galatasaray suddenly looked much more consistent and effective (7:8). The home heroes had to change gear to keep the Turkish spikers under control (16:16). After suffering a drop of concentration VfB was attentive again at the right moment. Improved blocking and smart attacks by Simeonov forced Galatasaray head coach Ahmet Resat Arig into a time-out (23:20) but without getting the result he was wanting. An ace by Baptiste Geiler and a Turkish mistake paved the way with gold for the hosts who cashed the second set as well, this time with the score of 25-20.
A very satisfied head coach Stelian Moculescu could see his guys stretch momentum also to the early phases of the third set.

VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN looked much more aggressive with good serving by Baptiste Geiler (4:1). The Turkish coach called a time-out but VfB didn’t slow their pace down. The home team put a lot of pressure on the Turkish defense and blocked the attacks killed by Galatasaray again and again (8:4). Though the fans of the Turkish team lit up a smoke bomb that spread yellow and red smoke in the arena, the home guys did not stumble at all (20:14). VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN played calmly up to the end and sealed the deal with an ace by Valentin Bratoev (25-17).

“Congratulations to VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN. They had a great support by their fans and developed from set to set. Our service and our reception were too bad today to win a single set” said Galatasaray FXTCR ISTANBUL head coach Ahmet Resat Arig after the game.

On the other hand VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN mentor Stelian Moculescu said: “We brought the victory home today. That was some hard work for the team. I hope this day is the turnaround for us in this season. The team works hard and we can see it is getting better every day.”